The Magic of Synergy

Creating a state of health to battle cancer

Each new year several members of my family decide on one word that will be our focused goal for the year. The year of my retirement my word was “Breathe”. I was working two jobs so I could retire from one and continue with the other, part-time, into retirement. I was crazy busy. The plan after the June’s retirement was to relax and breathe deeply.

Then my word was remission – back when I thought remission might happen to someone with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Last year my word was “Synergy”. I’ve decided “Synergy” will continue to be my word in 2020.

According to Google Dictionary, synergy is: the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.

For me, the “agents” are a whole variety of healthy activities. The energy from all the healthy activities creates a synergy ~ ~ an overall state of health.

I believe this synergy is working for me. My doctors have agreed too ~ I hope it is contributing to the fact that I’m still here!

I didn’t make up this concept – I participate in many webinars from PanCan about pancreatic cancer. I saw it discussed in one of the webinars, so I tweaked it to fit my own needs.

So, what are the healthy activities, you ask, that make up my own personal blueprint for synergy?

Physical activity – each day I plan to participate in at least one physical activity. These include walking, zumba, yoga, biking, kayaking and so on. Movement of some type.
Social supports – I love having coffee, lunch, wine, walking outings with my friends and family. Each week I make sure I plan a few events to share with people close to me.
Diet – I try to eat a diet low in…. fat, sugar, cholesterol, and carbs. Just to make sure it’s not boring, I break my diet regularly! However, I do focus on clean food eating as much as I can. Bread from the bakery with no additives, eggs from a farmer, farmers market produce, local grass-fed beef. Chocolate, however is a daily requirement!
Sleep – I am super lucky here; my body loves sleep! I do try to rest each afternoon and avoid powering through a day if I can. The exercise seems to really help me sleep! I used to be the energizer bunny all day and night and now I tend to run out of steam.
Managing stress – Yes, I do get a monthly massage! I also have gone to reiki each month, weekly meditation and yoga. I try to focus on the good stuff each week. This is where I depend on my social supports, especially to add some fun!
Faith – I do believe I feel the spiritual support from God and family members who have preceded me in death. The amazing prayers from friends and family sustain me. My favorite place to find peace is at The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in New Franken, WI. I carry the Holy water from there with me.
Environment – I tend to feed off my environment so I find quiet places and those that nourish my curiosity. Thank you to all my friends and family who have hiked with me in sanctuary woods. I love the peace of Potter Lake when I kayak there. And I love the free museum days each month! My garden is my favorite escape.

Synergy is definitely a lifestyle and takes a lot of my time each day. Since I think it’s a bit magic, I get rather anxious if I’m not participating in my synergy world. I’ve also found that it’s a great way to spend the day!

That’s why I decided to continue with synergy as my goal word for 2020.

What would your word be?

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kbraier

This is my blog about living my life with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer—End stage. I joked about writing this imaginary blog when I spent a year on a treatment that allowed me only 10 days to feel well enough to live a fairly normal life. (Actually normal doesn’t even really exist for me anymore!) To earn those good days, I spent the previous 10 days living in post-chemo treatment physical hell – that also became normal in a perverse way. I’m also writing to honor those who are diagnosed with Stage Four Pancreatic Cancer. You might live longer than you expect and I want you to have someone who tells you what that’s like. There aren’t many role models for people with this because, well, they’re usually gone. So, this is for you. Maybe your journey will be similar to mine. Actually, it will probably be very different because “everyone is different.” Even still, maybe this will still be a bit of a guide. View all posts by kbraier

3 thoughts on “The Magic of Synergy”

That’s a great word Kathy, and I am really glad you are keeping it for 2020. Your detailed blueprint is wonderful, and as always, you are inspiring! I am not sure what my word is, but I’m liking Synergy! Sending loads of love and synergetic (??) support!

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